2013 NCAA Football Features

Using our college football simulation engine, we placed Florida State in a round-robin tournament featuring every national champion from the BCS era. Every team in the tournament played every other team 101 times. The simulation generated each team's winning percentage (Win%) and average points per game (Avg. PPG).

Florida State erased an 18-point deficit against Auburn in the BCS National Championship to cap a perfect season and join the ranks as the 16th and final champion of the BCS era. While the Seminoles weren't a complete shocker to hoist the Coaches' Trophy, they were far from the favorite to do so at the season's onset. Florida State ranked 11th in the AP preseason poll, three spots behind conference-mate Clemson. (Auburn, meanwhile, didn't garner a single preseason vote.) Although coming off a 12-2 campaign, the Seminoles were trading a proven quarterback, first-round draft pick EJ Manuel, for an unknown quantity, redshirt freshman Jameis Winston. 4,057 passing yards, 44 total touchdowns and one Heisman Trophy later, it's safe to say Winston was prepared for the challenge.

Aside from the National Championship Game and a first-quarter scare at Boston College, Florida State remained largely untested throughout the 2013 season. The Seminoles faced four ranked ACC teams – Maryland, Clemson, Miami and Duke – and outscored the bunch 200-35. Their 51.6 points per game ranked second nationally and the Florida State defense was the nation's best, surrendering just 12.1 points per game.

The competition stiffened in our head-to-head tournament featuring every champion of the BCS era, however. Using our college football simulation engine, Florida State “played” 101 games against every opponent and won 56.6 percent of the time, earning a seventh-place finish in the tournament. Winston and the offense averaged 32.1 points per game, fourth-most in the simulation.

Among the vanquished foes were another Florida State squad, Bobby Bowden's 1999 team that starred Chris Weinke and Peter Warrick. The 1999 Seminoles finished 9th in the tournament with a 47.8 win percentage.

The 2012 Alabama Crimson Tide captured the top spot in the tournament, winning 84.1 percent of the time. Alabama placed three teams in the top five.